Veatch Research Group- 2016-

Dr. Sarah VeatchPrincipal Investigator

Dr. Sarah Veatch is an Assistant Professor of Biophysics and Physics and has been at the University of Michigan since 2010. She completed her PhD in Physics at the University of Washington with Sarah Keller, where she did pioneering work characterizing coexisting liquid phases in purified membrane vesicles. Sarah conducted postdoctoral training with Barbara Baird and David Holowka at Cornell University, where she discovered that isolated cell plasma membranes are poised close to a miscibility critical point at growth temperatures and began applying newly developed super resolution localization based imaging techniques to quantify biological membrane heterogeneity. Sarah has built upon these foundations in her independent laboratory, which aims to understand how cells exploit the mixing properties of plasma membrane lipids to accomplish diverse biological functions.

Sarah has received numerous awards since joining the faculty at UM, including the Howard Prize from Durham University in 2015, the Margaret Oakley Dayhoff award from the Biophysical Society in 2014, and the a Sloan Research Fellowship in 2012.

Dr. Matthew StonePostdoctoral Researcher

Matthew Stone joined the Veatch lab in 2011 as a PhD student in Biophysics at the University of Michigan. His research generally aims to quantify spatially heterogeneous plasma membrane compositions using multi color super-resolution microscopy. He is investigating how the plasma membrane composition around the B cell receptor is organized during antigen stimulation. He also works on the development of super-resolution techniques and analysis to allow sensitive and quantitative determination of protein spatial distributions.

Matt was a molecular biophysics training grant recipient in 2010-2012 and was awarded a Rackham Predoctoral Fellowship in 2015.

Dr. Sarah ShelbyPostdoctoral Researcher

Dr. Brian DeVreePostdoctoral Researcher

Brian did his graduate work on the structural and pharmacological properties of G protein-coupled receptors. His current project in the Veatch lab is focused on imaging the effects of chemokine receptor activation on the actin cytoskeleton during early-stage HIV entry into T-cells. As part of this project, he is also studying the statistical properties of single-molecule localization super-resolution images and how low-abundance proteins can be effectively studied with this technique.

Kathleen WisserLaboratory Manager

Kathleen joined the Veatch lab in 2014 and has been in the Biophysics Department since 1992. She received her BS in Chemistry from EMU. Kathleen conducts research on functional studies of B cell receptor signaling under various perturbation conditions. When Kathleen isn’t in the lab she enjoys the outdoors and cooking.

Julia BourgBiophysics Graduate Student

Julia joined the Veatch lab in 2015 and is currently investigating the lipid landscape within focal adhesions with super-resolution microscopy. Beyond the bench she is passionate about science education and community outreach. Connect with her on Twitter and LinkedIn!

Thomas joined the Veatch lab in January 2016, and is studying the regulation of ion channel dynamics by critical membrane lipids, using a variety of techniques including localization microscopy. He is also working on improving data analysis methods for localization microscopy. Outside the lab, he enjoys baking for friends, and learning about language and linguistics, among other things.

Rohan DesiUndergraduate Student

Rohan is from South Carolina and is currently a junior in the undergraduate Biophysics and Astrophysics programs at the University of Michigan. He is currently conducting experiments with flavivirus NS1 proteins and observing how it binds to and alters the critical temperatures of isolated plasma membrane vesicles.

Ryan ShriverUndergraduate Student

Ryan joined the Veatch lab in May of 2016, and is currently a senior in the Chemical Engineering program at the University of Michigan. He is working on designing, developing, and characterizing DNA nanostructures for a hands-on, instructional laboratory course that is taught by Dr. Veatch.

Zoe GerstleUndergraduate Student

Zoe is a sophomore in the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts at the University of Michigan. She joined the Veatch Lab in June, 2016 and is currently exploring the effects of DTT and n-alcohols on critical temperatures in GPMVs (Giant Plasma Membrane Vesicles). Outside of the lab, Zoe enjoys backpacking, reading, and spending quality time with friends and family.